Thursday, 18 October 2012

The marvels of modern medicine

I woke up this morning with a bit of a migraine (and yes I still have them) but I think today was a bit of a stress migraine. My anxieties were all a flutter today and the stress levels were rising because this morning Sam went for his MAG3 renal scan with Lasix, in other words he was having a nuclear kidney scan. I'd researched what was going to happen so Sam and I were prepared. Donald gave Sam a blessing this morning before we went which was a good start to the day. We didn't have to wait long at PRP Imaging as we had a 9.30am appointment. The radiographer got straight into it and didn't give us much time to think. Sam was loaded onto the bed under the scanner and the radiopharmaceutical MAG 3 was injected into his bloodstream through his arm. He then had to wait lying still for 20 minutes while the fluid is delivered to the kidneys via the bloodstream. They needed to look at the blood supply, function and excretion of urine from the
kidneys. The radiopharmaceutical shows up as shadows on the kidneys and bladder on the scans. The test can find out what percentage each kidney contributes
to the total kidney function and if the kidneys are emptying.

After the first 20 minutes Sam could get up and go to the bathroom and then had to hop back on the scanner for some more pictures for a minute.

Then the radiographer injected the Lasix, which is like a diuretic, to make your fluids flow quicker through the kidneys and Sam spent another 20 minutes on the scanner until he was allowed to relieve himself once again and have another picture to see how his kidneys were draining. At least for the second 20 minutes we put the iPod on so he could listen to some music and relax.

After it was all done, Sam kept needing to go to the bathroom, I asked him if his pee would glow in the dark after the radioactive injections. As a treat we went to lunch and spent some time in the toy shop. It's fun spending time with one child at a time, even if it is for medical reasons.

Sam's hot chocolate moustache

After I picked Ethan and Tobes up from school we drove back to PRP Imaging to pick up the scans and report then headed off to the GP to find out the results. As the scans and ultrasound showed, Sam's right kidney works beautifully but his left kidney does not. He has an obstruction in the PUJ, the Pelvi-Ureteric Junction. It's the part of the kidney where the urine flows from the renal pelvis to the ureter and then to the bladder. It is blocked and will need unblocking which most likely means surgery. As to what will happen we have to wait until we see the Urologist next week.

Before that happens, Donald is off to have some surgery on Tuesday to remove a screw from his broken leg then he will be able to put pressure on his foot at last and start walking again. Fingers crossed all goes well and soon no more crutches. Another story to be continued . . .

All I can say is aren't we lucky to live in a world with modern medicine!!

End note: The boys and I were very disappointed when we went to the doctor this afternoon and found that the mulberry tree had been cut right back to 1 meter high, even when it was dripping with ripe mulberries. The gardener must have been either mad or selfish, maybe they took all the mulberries for themselves.

Earth Walker Family

A long, long time ago in a galaxy far, far away... there lived a family who walked the earth. Closely related to the Skywalker family.... and it's not really that long ago or that far away ... Sydney in fact!! There was Don Solo, Princess Lisha, Samikin, Queethan and Tobyone Kanobi and together we travel the earth in the Millenium (Horrendous) Falcon and our Naboo Starship.